Save Money and Help Staff with
Telecommuting and Flextime

By Sara Sutton Fell

There is an
increasingly notable trend among companies that promises to redefine
the way businesses save money and employees enjoy higher levels of
job satisfaction: the rise of telecommuting and flextime, twin
phenomena that combine technology, economy, efficiency, proven
results and satisfaction between workers and management. The
acceptance of these facts is a far cry from the days when these
ideas were merely speculative arguments about a glorious future
where computers would seemingly revolutionize the traditional
definitions of work and leisure. For it is now commonplace for
corporations, from small enterprises to household brands, to have
flextime or telecommuting positions that accommodate the
expectations of employees with individual needs or newfound duties
that require greater latitude at both home and the office.

This
development is not a demand for reduced work hours or lessened
responsibilities; most employees simply need flexibility in when,
where, and how they do their work. Among call centers, where women
are an integral part of the workforce, telecommuting is a proven
winner. The advantages, which include reduced office space, legal
expenses, utilities, compliance issues and other forms of overhead
commonly associated with running such a major undertaking, are too
many to ignore. By distributing the fruits of worker autonomy around
the globe - call centers are, by their very nature an international
enterprise - executives can increase a company's success while at
the same time, and this is a benefit too rare to even remotely
dismiss, helping workers flourish. Employees can handle calls with
greater ease, and thus increase their own longevity with a business
that might otherwise soon be looking for costly replacements. More
to the point, call centers (or the companies that require their
services) are a model example of telecommuting in action: they
operate efficiently, entrusting workers with key assignments that
are both personally rewarding and financially promising.

Another benefit, a personal one, is the way telecommuting or
flextime allows workers to avoid a false choice between work and
family. For example: an executive who needs to take their child to a
weekly tutoring appointment which falls near the end of the day. In
this case, if the executive was able to adjust her schedule on these
days, so that she come into work two hours early so that she could
in turn leave two hours early, there would be no negative impact on
her performance, and in fact working during the quieter “off” hours
might even prove more productive. Additionally, she would likely be
more loyal to and have a higher morale for a company that is
willing to consider and respect her needs. This type of situation
is an opportunity for companies to think and act more creatively,
and likely find a mutually beneficial solution.

Surveys overwhelmingly confirm this viewpoint, that almost
two-thirds of women cite flexible work arrangements as being either
extremely or very important to them. (This study, conducted by the
Harvard Business Review, is one of several reports that employers,
to their credit, view seriously.) Many of these same people also
state that flextime is more valuable to them than higher pay or
additional vacation time. The reason for this phenomenon is clear:
someone caring for a child or an elderly relative wants to maintain
their career, but needs different hours to be most productive.
Companies who ignore these circumstances - and thankfully, fewer and
fewer businesses are part of this group - compromise their ability
to attract and retain talent. One of the best pieces of advice I
received when I started my first business was from a CEO of a public
company. He said that the best way to maintain a happy workforce
was to respect their commitment to take care of their family. And
anytime you make them choose to between career and personal duty,
you chip away at the trust, loyalty, and morale that the employee
has in the company.

It
is also important to note that many workers who leave a company do
so for reasons that, though they are not directly related to
flextime or telecommuting, could be mitigated by these options. The
pressure and rigidity of some businesses create displeasure and
anxiety; people leave these places without regret. And yet, this
loss of talent has a last effect on a company's ability to perform,
from its pursuit of clients to its reputation among prospective
employees. Translation: word gets around if a business has a bad
work environment.

Meeting these challenges is exciting and necessary. The broad
acceptance among employees for, and the significant awareness among
companies about, flextime and telecommuting are worthy of our
heightened attention. These tools are a plus for business, an
advantage that can mean the difference between success and failure,
between excellence and mediocrity. If we embrace this opportunity,
we can help build more good - and great - businesses, places where
employees are happy and productive and proud of how they are
working, and living their lives.

Sara Sutton Fell is the founder and CEO
of FlexJobs,
a resource for flextime and telecommuting jobs. A successful
entrepreneur and mother, Sara lives in Colorado and is a frequent
commentator about work-life matters.

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